MacNoob

The greatly anticipated Amazon tablet (dubbed the Kindle) is expected to hit the streets before the Christmas buying season begins. M. G. Siegler at TechCrunch says he’s played with the new device and reports the new 7” tablet will be available sometime in October. So what makes the new Kindle different from every other Android tablet and why will it be the first to challenge the iPad?

Content, content and more content.

Unlike every other iPad “competitor”, Amazon has the content infrastructure in place to provide buyers with a true “end-to-end” experience. It’s something the Samsungs and Motorolas of the world don’t have and can’t provide. This complete solution including great hardware, a sound and user-friendly operating system and a convenient, well-stocked content market is what has made the iPad so successful (with over 80% market share). Take away any one of these three ingredients and the iPad would be no more successful than the HP TouchPad. Motorola and Samsung both make great hardware and the latest Android build, while no iOS is arguably good enough, but users wanting movies, music and more apps for their device are forced to navigate through a hodgepodge of content providers with no unified method of getting apps and media purchased and installed. Amazon is the only company that seems to get it. Their MP3 store has been on-line for years now and Amazon Prime customers recently got access to a wealth of movies. Additionally, according to Mr. Siegler, Amazon plans to open their own app store. If there’s one thing Amazon does better than anyone, it’s operate an on-line market. The Android Marketplace won’t even work on the new Kindle’s forked Android version that Amazon is customizing specifically for this device. Word is, it won’t look like any Android version we’ve seen.

So, it looks like Apple is finally going to have some competition in the tablet space. I say GREAT! Competition drives lower prices and innovation and so far, no one has mounted a serious challenge to the iPad. Amazon certainly has the chops to do it.

When Amazon released the original Kindle in ’07 I bought one for my wife the first day.  She is a voracious reader (as am I) and I really thought she would enjoy it.  The only problem is, the books she tends to read aren’t always available in the Kindle store.  She’s an executive for a Fortune 500 company and her reading taste gravitates towards management theory and work redesign.  Neither genre tends to show up on the NYT best-seller list.  She does find time to do some casual reading and really enjoys the instant gratification the Kindle store provides.  Our ten-year-old daughter, on the other hand, has no trouble finding titles for the Kindle and [thank God] her appetite for reading is every bit as large as her mother’s and mine.  Can you guess where I’m going with this?  Three avid readers + one Kindle = conflict.

When Jeff Bezos announced the Kindle 2 last month I immediately began conjuring a $359 justification.  I have no huge complaints about our original Kindle.  In fact, it has almost become my exclusive book reading format.  I just wanted the new Kindle because it is, well, new.  With no birthdays approaching and Christmas nearly ten months away, I needed a good story to present to the finance committee (my wife) for approval.  I thank God every day for that paradigm because without her to check my techno-lust, things would get out of control in a hurry.  That’s a topic for another day.

Enter the Kindle app for the iPhone.  When I first heard about it I couldn’t believe it.  I guess I’ve grown so accustomed to Apple’s way of doing things that the concept of a free application that effectively eliminates the need for another $359 piece of hardware has become completely foreign to me.  I still want a new Kindle, but nothing short of loss or complete failure of our existing model will facilitate that purchase now.  Anyway, I went straight to the App Store, downloaded and installed the new Kindle app on my iPhone and Pod Touch.  I must admit to being a little skeptical at first.

After all, my 52-year-old eyes need a slightly enlarged font on the Kindle.  The much smaller iPhone screen would have to be a much bigger challenge, right?  WRONG.  The iPhone screen more than makes up for the smaller font with infinitely better contrast.  In fact, I think the iPhone reading experience is every bit as good as that of the Kindle.  For certain, turning pages with a finger flick feels more natural than the Kindle’s button method and the much-ballyhooed  accidental page turn is almost impossible on the phone.  Amazon let me quickly download any of my purchased books I wanted and the “Whispersync” took me to the right spot when I opened my current read.  One thing missing from the iPhone app is the ability to browse or purchase books directly from the Kindle store.  For that you’ll need to use a computer or the Kindle.  It’s a minor inconvenience and I can’t help but think that feature will show up in a future release (if Apple & AT&T don’t object).  Aside from that, adding or navigating to bookmarks, changing the font size, synchronizing and getting back to the main menu is completely intuitive after simply tapping the screen.  In short, after installing the app I had all my books, was reading and felt completely comfortable with it within five minutes.  Also, no more squabbling over the only Kindle in the house.  The only down side, I’m going to need to get really creative if I ever want a Kindle 2!

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